Here in the UK we have a wealth of beautiful, historic and unique stately homes and most of these are set in stunning and expansive parklands and formal gardens. Children can find visiting stately homes boring and therefore combining a stately home visit with lunch or tea and a walk for them to blow off their extra steam is day out that can suit the whole family. Many but not all stately homes welcome dogs so if you want to bring your…

A stately home is defined as a large and impressive house that is occupied or was formerly occupied by an aristocratic family. In this article, we’ll list the top 10 characteristics that give these amazing historic buildings their title. Owners of Victorian and period properties wishing to create a memorable and unique house can learn a lot from stately homes – there are a number of features that define these houses making them…

Cliveden, Taplow, has long-standing links with the Royal Family. It was the place where Meghan Markle stayed the night before her marriage to Prince Harry and has been visited by nearly every monarch since George I over the years. It was also the backdrop to some defining events in English history such as the Profumo affair.There have been three houses on this site, the first two destroyed by fire in 1795 and 1849. The present Grade I…

The UK is extremely rich in historic buildings that perfectly lend themselves to location work. From those in an impeccable state of repair, fit for a Queen, to those that are literally crumbling before us (think Great Expectations), plus everything in between. These properties usually boast fantastically well-established gardens and woodland providing ideal filming locations both inside and out, many of them within easy reach of London.…

About VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles was the main royal residence of France from 1682 until 1789 and is located around 12 miles southwest of the centre of Paris.[2]It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, notable especially for the ceremonial Hall of Mirrors, the jewel-like Royal Opera, and the royal apartments as well as the vast Gardens of Versailles with fountains, canals, and geometric flower beds and groves.Why did Versailles…

This question covers two potential trains of thought. Victorian fashion comprises the fashions worn by those Victorian men and women who cold afford clothes that were about more than just covering their bodies and keeping them warm.Also styles that ape Victorian trends have been coming and going with amazing regularity in the last few decades, in fact in the 2017 catwalk shows there were a lot of Victorian style detail blouses, rich…

If we are going to talk about Victorian games, we probably should distinguish between games for adults, games for children and games for the whole family. Many were invented by the Victorians and are still popular today.Victorian toysA lot of toys were expensive in Victorian times and even children from rich families would have few toys, so these toys really did get used a lot and passed from child to child within the family.Poor…

Just a note of clarification for our readers on both sides of the Atlantic – by Public schools in the UK, we mean private schools where fees had to be paid.What is a public school?Eton, Harrow, Westminster, Rugby, Winchester, Charterhouse, and Shrewsbury, and two London day schools, St. Pauls and Merchant Taylors's, were defined as “Public Schools” in the 1860s by the educational Clarendon commission. They were maintained by private…

When was stained glass made?Stained glass has been used in buildings and ornaments for over 1000 years, especially in Catherals and Churches. One of the best known designers and artisans in this field is Louis Comfort Tiffany who designed and developed lighting products featuring stained and art glass at his studios in New York from the late 1800s.Tiffany is the artist probably most associated with Art…